Cathode.



E; A. SPBRRY. GATHQDB. APPLICATION FILED JAN. 26, 1909.

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entre@ ELMER A. SFERRY, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YGRK, ASSIGNOR T0 HOOKER ELECTRO- CHEMICAL COMPANY. OF NEW YORK, N. Y.. A CORPORTION OF NEW YORK.

CATHODE.

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Application tiled January 2G, 1909.

To all zr/lom t may concern.'

` other solution undergoing eleetrolysis, or are lle it known that l. llnulcn A. Sestini', a

` and a tar greater length ot' wall is provided eiti'len ot' the United States, residing at llroohlyn. n1 the eount'y of Kings and State ot \ew l orh. have invented eet-tain new and usel'ul Improvements in tathodes. ot whiehj I eonsnleratmns ot eleetrieal eondnetivity. in

the Yt'ollowing is a speeitieation.

rl`lns invention is a nietalhe eathode plate which is partienlarly adapted tor nse with eleetrolytie eells` ol the type wherein a dia- I phragm is laid in eontaet with one face of Vthe eathode. an example ot a eell ot' this eharaeter lleing that deserihed in l. S. Patt i gated perforations.

ent No; 779,384, issued January 5 3. 1.905. to (l l). lownsend In such eells. and partienlarl)Y in ease a high eurrent density is employed at the eathode, it 1s desu'ahle to seeure a snhstant'iall)v even distribution otl the y eurrent over the laee otl the eathode plate. as otherwise irregularities ol' aetion may ensue. resulting in a decreased ell'ieiene`\r of operation.

.should preferably aggregate 50C( its exposed area. These perforations have heretofore` usually comprised uniformly distributed rireular apertures. trieal eomluetivity of a plate ot' this eharaeter is substantially uniform in all direetions.y

it has heen lound that .sueh apertures tend to clog or till iu praetiee when in eontaet with impure liquors. the deposit aeeumulah ing in the lower portion ot' eaeh aperture to a height dependent upon thethiekuess ol' the plate; after aeertain amount ot material has eolleeted, any t'urther deposit is washed out and eliminated hy the eseaping gases and pereolating liquid. l have found that' the dittieulty due to the elogging of these pei-to rations may he largely overeome and other important advantages seeured by elongating the apertures in a vertieal dn'eetlon. ln this ease the deposit'. lieing dependent upon the thickness oil the plate` doesnot rise higher than in a eireular oritiee. and thus elogs or tills a mueh less proportion of the area ot' the lnrlorations. These. elongated perforations or slots possess a 'turth'er advantage whieh is independent ot' then' Vvertirul or other position. in thaltor a given pert'entage a`rea ot' aperture in the plate. they atl'ord. as eoinpared with eireular apertures7 an inereased aetive eathode area: this` results trom the t'aet that the walls of the pert'orations are eathoditailly aetive to the extent that they are wot with the brine or The perforatitnis ot' the eathode, a or more ot f Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented .lune ttl., MMS..

serial No. 474.255.

in contaet with the saturated diaphragm;

hy the use of the elongated apertures. lt is desirable that the eathode plate should he as thln' as 1s eonsistent with strength and the order that it may he made thin and at., thesame time may etleet a substantially even distrihut'ion ot' the current. lV have toundit essential that the current. should he Condueted Yt'rom the cathode at those edges whieh are transverse to the slots or elonln this way a direct; and short path is lafforded for the eurrent; t'rom an)v portion ot' the plate to/the eon duet'ors. Vlt will he understood that eontaet may also he made along the edges parallel to the pert'orations.

For a tull understamling ot' the invention ret'erenee is made to the aeeompanyingdraw-- ings. wherein:

Figure vl is a Vt'aee view of one forni of e: thode plate in aeeordanee with my Iinvenll'hile the eleetion: Fig. Q is an enlarged fragmentary face view ot the same: l `ig` il is a similar view showing a lstaggered arrangement of slots; l"ig. t is a vertieal .sectional view ot a eatliode eompartment ot an eleetrolytie eell. showing the Cathode; and Fig. 5 is a partial longitudinal seetion through a eathode plate and diaphragm.

Referring to the drawings7 l represents a steel or iron plate. illustrated as having a plane snrfaee provided with closely spaced elongated slots or pert'orations 3, which :in praet'iee may amount in the aggregate to 5,27@ or more ot the. exposed area ot the plate. 'lhese slots are disposed at right angles to the longer edges oi the plate, in Contact with which edges are eonduetors 2l. ln the applieatiou oti this eathode to an eleetrolytie eell having a, metallie eathode eoinpartment. it will he understood that the cathodeV eonneetion may he made to this compartment.whieh should then vhe in etfeetive eleetrieal eontaet with the eat'hode plate along lioth ot those edges whieh are transverse. to the perlorations, that is to say along the uppel and lower edges ot a plate positioned as shown in l'ig. l.

Fig. Q showsa fragment ot'the slotted plate having parallel. alined per'torations. Fig. il shows a fragment of a modication having staggered pertorations alined in the diret:-

tion of their longest dimensions. It will be observed that in either case the metal strips 5 t between the perforations are straight and uninterrupted across the working face of the plate, affording direct 'current paths to 'the lateral current leads, or to the abutting portions of the cathode compartment, as the case may be; This last mentioned construction is illustrated in Fig. wherein 7 is a metallic cathode compartment or chamber, having a cathode connection at 8. The cathode plate l overlies the recessed portion 9. of this compartment and is shown as se- 1 cured to its upper and lower edges in such manner as to secure an effective electrical contact. This may be accomplished by riveting the cathode plate into rabbets in upper and lower flanges of the cathode compartment as illustrated at' l0 in Fig. 5, or by i welding; or electrical contact between the cathode plate and the cathode compartment may be secured by any other appropriate means.

The apertures 2, 2a are preferably punched by suitable dies whereby a somewhat rounded contour is given to the edges of the intermediate strips t on one face,

illustrated at t3 in Fig. o. In assembling the cell they diaphragm 5 is in certain cases placed upon this face of the plate, as illustrated in Fig. 5. This affords the advantages of reducing the flat cathode surface facing the anode, and of facilitating the entry of the diaphragm, under pressure of the felectrolyte, into the apertures as clearly lshown in Fig. 5, thereby considerably increasing the active cathode surface in actual Contact with the diaphragm. Under certain conditions of operation however thisl arrangement may be reversed, the apertures l being rounded outwardly or away from the diaphragm, thus permitting a ready cleari ance of the percolating electrolyte and tending to prevent the accumulation of any deposit in the apertures.

I claim l. A cathode plateI comprising a metallic sheet having longitudinally-alined, elongated perforations disposed transversely to the longest dimension of the plate.

A. cathode plate comprising a metallic sheet having longitudinally-alined, elon- '1 gated perforations disposed transversely to the longest dimension of the plate, in coml bination with current. conductors with the longer sides of the plate.

3. ln combination, a recessed metallic plate, and a cathode plate in metallic contact therewith and overlying the recessed portion thereof, said cathode plate coinprising a ntetallic sheet having longitudinally-alined, elongated perforations disposed 1 transversely of the longest dimension of the plate.

In testina ny whereof, l atlix my signature in presence ofstwo witnesses. y

ELlt/lll t A. SPERRY.

Witnesses THOMAS IEGAN, FRANCIS O. PAUs'r.

in contact 

